My dad is half Mexican (it is to this half I my slightly olive complexion), and half Irish (it is to this half I owe my admiration for "Irish Coffee"). He didn't grow up speaking Spanish, but he does know how to make one heck of a tamale. My dad's trip to visit me in Chiapas was his first International trip, and I was excited to be able to show him around this country that our ancestors called home.
My dad got to town on my birthday, which also was the school's graduation. At the Tuxtla airport you buy a ticket to an approved taxi based on zones and color. So, we took at taxi that thankfully had air conditioning, the 30 or so miles to Tuxtla. I tried to point out what I knew on the way into town, but really, like most places, the ride from the airport to the center of town was quite uninteresting: farms, cows (cows are a lot skinnier in Mexico), small villages, tiny roadside restaurants. I explained that graffiti in Tuxtla didn't mean we were in a scary neighborhood, and still can't answer why the rebar is sticking out of most of the buildings. My best guess is that the owners hope to add on some day.
Friday was a busy day. We took the bus to breakfast (his first of many bunny bus rides) and I shared my affinity for chiliquiles and made sure he ordered some. Chiliquiles is my favorite Mexican food. It's fried tortilla strips simmered in salsa and topped with goat cheese and eggs. We took a brief tour of the west-ish side of town mainly featuring my school and then met up with some of my friends for a birthday lunch. It was everything a birthday lunch should be, and included an awesome crown (a tradition I'm told).
I wore the crown that afternoon, starting my 28th year as "royalty," but thought it would clash with my dress at graduation so I left it at home that evening. As a side note, I still haven't eaten the bubble gum that served as the center of the flowers. Anyway, that night students from two of my classes graduated (my 7 to 9 a.m. class and my 5-7 p.m. class). I really was lucky to have such fabulously smart and sweet students. They even sang "Happy Birthday" to me at their graduation celebration and gave me a card with the nicest birthday greetings. After taking pictures, talking with the local media and saying goodbye to my students it was time to celebrate with the other teachers at a karaoke bar. I sang a Beatles song with the new teachers from Poland, tried to sing along to the Spanish songs and danced when the lyrics were too fast to follow. Tequilla was drank (with Squirt, which is something I had never had before) and it really was a great start to my 28th year.
Saturday, after class, dad and I took the bus to San Cristobal. I took him to Tierradentro, which has by far some of the best food in Chiapas. Here is what our table looked like after we ate.
Keep in mind it was just the two of us. I had the vegetable plate, and also the celery soup that came with my dad's meal, which was Chiapaneco chicken mole. The blue corn chips with guacamole were fantastic, I could have eaten the guacamole with a spoon like ice cream.
The restaurant is, from what I gathered, a sort of Zapatista cooperative. The Zapatistas (primarily rural indigenousness people) have been in conflict (mostly nonviolent) with the Mexican state for more than a decade over control of local resources and rights of the people. Signs in Zapatista areas read "You are in Zapatista rebel territory. Here the people command and the government obeys." I found this video that does a great job explaining what the Zapatistas are about, you should watch it...
Ok, so this blog took a little detour. I'm going to leave it with this, and give you time to read the links and watch the video. But hopefully you'll be back to read more about my dad's visit to Chiapas, which should be up in a day or two...
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